shenzhen

I am assuming you mean that you have already emailed the IV application and supporting documents. Did you get an email back from NVC confirming receipt of your scanned documents? They should send you an email back and I would imagine they will state your package is not complete because they are waiting for your AOS documentation. You should email in the AOS documentation to the same email address.

Which means they are looking for your Total Income. AGI on the 1040 form is after one takes various allowed deductions against one's income (including the foreign earned income exculsion). 1040EZ does not allow those deductions so the AGI line is the same as your total income.

Apparently one is higher than the other for him - one makes the cutoff and the other does not. Any advice would be appreciated. Poor guy is really nervous over this, and I don't want to tell him something incorrect. Just because one has an income in excess of the 125% poverty line does not mean that one should not be concerned or nervous especially in the case where one is "right at the line". I would recommend having a sponser lined up "just in case". See the FAQ below from the State Department: Is a sufficient I-864 the only consideration for meeting any public charge issues at the time of the visa interview? No. Even though the I-864 is a contract and the U.S. government prohibits giving immigrants most federal means-tested public benefits for at least the first five years after their arrival in the U.S., consular officers look at other public charge issues. They will look at the complete financial situation of the sponsor and the applicant. This means looking at the age, health, education, skills, financial resources and family status of the applicant and the sponsor. They will confirm to the extent possible that the applicant will have adequate financial support and is not likely to become a public charge.

Yes - debit cards are becoming common. You can drop buy the China Postal Savings (yes, apparently another function of China Post) and buy one. Whatever amount you purchase it for is the amount you have available You can also freely use Chinese Bank issued credit cards at most stores, supermarkets, etc. However you can only use international credit cards at major supermarkets (JUSCO, WalMart, TESCO, MYKAL, etc. -- and even then with a pain in the ass -- i.e. Passport/Name on card exactly same as Passport, 50 minutes of your time, etc), 3-5 star international hotels and 4-5 star chinese hotels, and major/high end speciality shops (i.e. LV, etc). I always just use my US debit card to withdraw cash from the ATM (1% international transaction fee charged by my robber..bank). If I ever need more that the daily amount (limited by my US bank) then I can get a cash advance off the debit card from BOC/CCB/China Merchants. The cash advance does not have any interest (think of it as a larger ATM withdrawal) but you pay a transfer fee of 1-3% to the Chinese bank on top of the 1% international transaction fee to my US bank.

And the advise for the rest of us should have been ???? I don't think anyone here on CFL knew just what was coming our way after this short introduction post ...

Good news .... but who made her little hands hot ???

Are you going for K3 or CR-1?

You OPTIN to electronic processing after you send them the I-864 for each immigrant and paid the $70 fee fore each I-864. You filed TWO I-130s for visas, one for each parent so each needs an I-864. There are cases where one I-130 is filed for a group (For example: a sibling, in this case the sibling, sibling's spouse, and sibling's children are covered by the one I-130, so one I-864) This instruction is for the normal way of submitting the documents to NVC. The instructions for the DS-230 also state: Mail the DS-230 and the applicant’s civil documents, and the applicant's photographs to the NVC. If you file electronically you submit all of these documents via scanned PDF files and then bring the originals to the interview. Mailing them to NVC will only confuse one's case. From http://travel.state.gov/visa/visa_4595.html The applicant must scan and e-mail appropriate forms and/or documents as requested by NVC (no paper copies will be accepted). - and - The applicant will need to present the original physical documents to the US Embassy/Consulate at the time of the applicant's visa interview. Failure to do so may cause a delay or denial of the visa being sought.

Should be fine, they will simply hold until they get the I-864, and then proceed.

See this text

Unless you have given up your citizenship you are required to file income tax reports on your "global income" including your wife's if you file "married-joint return". You can take a credit to exempt the income from US tax if you paid China tax on your income. You should use Form 1040 and the required Foreign Tax Credit (1116) and Foreign Earned Income (2555). The limit for 2009 was $91,400. The foreign earned income exclusion will reduce your regular tax liability, but not your self employment tax if self-employed. Form 2555 EZ can also be used in most cases if you do not have salary amount over the income exclusion limit. Here is something most expats seem to forget or not know: A common misconception that contributes to the international tax gap is that this potentially excludable foreign earned income is exempt income not reportable on a US tax return. In fact, only a qualifying individual with qualifying income may elect to exclude foreign earned income and this exclusion applies only if a tax return is filed and the income is reported. Q: I already report my income to my foreign country of residence. The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion eliminates that income for U.S. tax purposes. So why should I report to IRS? A: Because if you don't report your earnings - even though they are 100% excluded - the IRS can later deny you the exclusion and tax you on that income (even though the foreign country already taxed the income). One other point: If married and file jointly that you can double the income excusion but you must fill out Form 2555 for each person. In other words one cannot make 181,000 USD and the other make 0 USD and you exclude all of your income from US tax. Lastly, if you exceed the exclusion limit they start your US tax rate basis your income as if you earned it all in the US, meaning you are not taxed starting from the lowest bracket but taxed at the highest bracket your AGI would have fallen into (this was changed a few years ago --- another one of the millions of hidden tax increases you never heard of). Then again it always amazes me you do not have to prove that you actually paid any foreign tax to get the foreign income exclusion---oh damn--if they see that it will become a new tax rule for expats... Here are two links to the issues: http://www.taxbarron.com/faqs.php http://www.taxmeless.com/IRS593Publication.htm http://www.irs.gov/businesses/article/0,,id=182017,00.html

This was my impression also -- "your typical smaller sized provincial city".

Thanks for the information. What is the advantage to the electronic process ve the paper process? Steve PS tried to open the link you sent but no luck. Paper will generate a PAPER file that gets SHIPPED to Guangzhou where it WILL sit in customs for at least THREE MONTHS. Electronic processing bypasses Chinese Customs Delay. Link just points to the Electronic processing topic that is pinned at the top of the " General Visa Discussion & First Steps" forum. Thanks I wish this process to go as fast as possible. Question: Do I need a scaner to get into the electronic process? Steve You will need access to a scanner that generates PDF files, go to your local FED-EX Kinkos and use one there scan and save your stuff on a USB flash drive, then bring home and email to NVC I live in Xiamen China and getting access to a scanner in not easy!!. The pined topic states this: NOTE: Electronic processing begins at NVC, NOT USCIS. The visa petition starts out normally by sending the initial petition (I-130 or I-129F) to USCIS (Chicago (I-130), Vermont/California (I-129F)) and only AFTER USCIS sends the approved petition (P2, NOA-2) to NVC will you opt into the electronic processing. Also electronic processing does NOT apply to I-130 filed DCF to the consulate or embassy in China. We reveived notice on March 9th that my wifes and her daughters application was sent to Portsmouth N.H. Is this the P-2, NOA-2 and is this the time to OPTIN to the electronic processing or shound I wait? Thanks Steve Steve You can buy one for less than 300 RMB. I bought a Cannon Lite scanner for 270 RMB that came with English/Chinese instructions and operating language. I brought it soley to use for Electronic Processing but it has come in very handy for many other things since that time.

You can do as Randy did, GIVE UP the green-card and later file an I-130 to get another IR-1 Spousal visa when you do make the permanent move to the USA. You can file DCF for the IR-1 visa, the in country process for this is perhaps 2-3 months. Again the green-card is for LIVING in the USA Permanently, it is NOT a "permanent visa" for trips into the USA. Yes I know I can do that ... but it requires going through the I-130 process again (not such a big deal) and another two years of not being able to have my legal wife visit my own country. I realize that the GC is for LIVING in the USA permanently. I filed for the GC in orde to do just that but my company may (probably) will change those plans for me. So now I want to be able to bring my wife to the USA to visit, spend some money, and meet my parents.

My situation is that we both live and work in China but she has a CR-1 visa issued that we will use before August 2010. I still have residence in USA and will not give this up plus I am paid from my USA company while working for the China subsidiary. We were supposed to come back to the USA in July 2010 but now I may end up staying here longer (up to 2 more years) at my company's request. I do not want to lose the 2-yr GC and have to re-do the I-130 to get her a 10-yr GC if we relocate to USA 2 years from now. Now as far as the clock counting the days to becoming eligible for US citizenship that is something neither my wife nor I am interested in now.

I am confused. Can you stay abroad for one or two years with the I-131? It is true that GC is not a Permanent Visa but we, those that are married to a non-USC and live outside the country, have no real option to visit the USA, see family, and spend money in the USA.

Great News!!!

But what do you recommend for him to do?

Any idea how long the turnaround time for this method should be? 7-10 working days max

Dead men tell no tales ....

Do you have a job here in China that is stable? Did you inform them that she was married to a USC and wanted to visit your family? I am just curious as to the reason for the denial. If it still amazing to me how easy it is for Europeans, married to a Chinese spouse but living in China, to get the equal of our B2 visa for their spouse to visit their home country yet the USA treats us like frauds, cheats, liars, etc.

just to clarify Thanks!!!!

If you mailed it to her it wouldn't have a visa entry stamp for the current visit. True but in our case they discarded the EOR letter I inserted in the passport without looking at it and then looked at the Bio page for about 10 seconds and then tossed the passport back to my wife. I think number 2 and 3 are much more important reasons for being at the interview but if one cannot make it then I don't think it means more probability for a denial.

My thinking was that they only interviewed the beneficiary. Do they also interview me, the petitioner, if I am there? If so, then I will figure out how to be there. No they do not interview the petitioner. Attending the interview can allow three things to happen (in my view): 1) She can give the VO your passport and tell him that you came to China to support her for the interview. The theory being that this helps a prove bona fide relationship (you could mail the passport to her and she could lie and say you were there so how much this helps seems debatable to me). 2) If she gets a blue slip you can at least try to discuss with someone in the IV section and understand why/what/how to resolve. 3) You show support to your loved one and help calm her especially if she is really nervous. I attended the interview but I was living in China so it was not quite so much a "big deal". If I had been back in the USA I most likely would not have gone.

When we get back to the USA we will see ... I dont mind shopping at second hand stores for clothes or even shoes. However, based on what I have seen and heard here, I will be surprised if she accepts buying and wearing second hand clothing...on the other hand she really does not spend much money and does not even like to shop too much (she likes it but not so much that I get tired of going).